NASA Goddard hosted a live Google+ Hangout on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 4 p.m. EST about MAVEN, NASA's next mission to Mars.

Credit: NASA/GSFC

MAVEN will examine the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail. It's scheduled to launch no earlier than 1:28 p.m. EST Monday, Nov. 18, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. MAVEN stands for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission, and it will examine specific processes on Mars that led to the loss of much of its atmosphere. Data and analysis could tell planetary scientists the history of climate change on the Red Planet and provide further information on the history of planetary habitability.